Day 028: Steadfast Beliefs

"Instruction guards righteous ways of life, but instruction incapable of criticism goes astray." Proverbs 10:18

This proverb suggests a narrative that seems to be making its rounds in this political season.  In a debate or a press conference, someone poses a question to a politician, and that politician, in turn, dodges the question entirely.

Another example is when gay men (or women as well, I'm sure) who keep their homosexuality to themselves, finding partners here and there for one night stands on mobile apps or websites, blatantly reject their being not straight.  They can be politicians who vote against all pro-LGBT measures but still maintain their app accounts.  They can be activists who openly condemn the LGBT community but still have their man of the night.

We are scared by our own beliefs, but we don't want to be challenged either, for that would require us to humble ourselves from being masters, sages, or teachers to becoming students, apprentices, or babies.  But, as Christians, we have a great example of what we are supposed to do.

Jesus was not at all afraid of his message or his mission.  He talked to all the chief priests, church leaders, and scribes about all things religion.  He talked before multitudes about all the things that are supposed to be happening.  He explained everything to his disciples, correcting them when they went astray.  He took all of these teachings straight to the cross - death - the ultimate criticism.  But, he rose, and his teachings are still relevant to this day.

This proverb calls us to listen, to learn, to investigate.  When we don't listen, we find that we are alone in our thoughts, hating the world around us for not understanding.  When we don't learn, we can take our own thoughts and bring them into some radical conclusions - some of which can be very destructive to ourselves and to our world around us.  When we don't investigate, we don't understand why we even believe what we do in the first place.

We need to take all this into account, so that in the face of criticism, we can remain resilient.  We need to listen to God, to learn from God, to investigate God.  God is willing to teach us.  Are we willing to learn?